The Beginning of the End
by hopelessromantic37
Summary: The wedding and exursions of Bella and Edward before Bella is changed. Rated M for the honeymoon and possibly for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

As I stared at myself in the mirror, I was sure I would collapse from nerves

As I stared at myself in the mirror, I was sure I would collapse from nerves. Why was I so nervous? This was only a little ceremony. Who was I trying to kid? Although I have to admit I did look stunning. I would take Edwards breath away, if he needed to breathe that is.

Alice had picked out a dress from some expensive Italian designer. But it did look amazing. It was a strapless that hugged just right to make my diminutive chest actually look full. There was intricate detailing on the bodice and the skirt was huge and gathered in places where it had small rose pins with diamonds in the center. She was kind enough, however to provide me with sensible shoes. My kind of sensible shoes, as in flats.

Rosalie had helped with my hair and make-up. I was grateful that neither Alice nor Rosalie had felt the need to make me look like a doll on _my _day. They applied sensible make-up in muted tones. They both decided that my hair had to be intricate to balance my lack of make-up. It was definitely time consuming. After 3 ½ hours they had successfully curled every inch of hair on my head and twirled it into the most intricate up do I'd ever seen. They put in small clips that matched the details on my dress and added my veil. I have to admit I was stunned that they had created the image I was seeing in the mirror with what little I provided them to work with. For once I was grateful my sisters were so fashionable.

How weird it felt to call them sisters. They had always seemed like family to me, since I have no siblings but it felt weird acknowledging them as my sisters. I looked at my soon-to-be-sort-of-already sisters. They looked gorgeous in their navy blue bridesmaids' dresses, big surprise. That was one of the few things Alice let me help her pick out. They were floor length with an empire waist and simple beading on the halter strap.

Just as Rosalie and Alice were finishing fussing over my jewelry, a pair of diamond studs with the diamond heart Edward had given me as a pendant around my neck – I had insisted I wear it even though Alice thought she could find something more fitting – we heard knocking at the door. Esme entered in an elegant baby blue pant suit smiling when she saw us fussing in front of the mirror.

"Edward has a message for you," she told me. "He says that you need to take a deep breath and not be nervous. He knows you'll be beautiful," she said with a smile. "Even though he hasn't seen anything," she quickly added seeing the sharp look on Alice's face. She had tried so hard to make it a surprise.

"Thanks, Esme." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them my father was standing in front of me in his suit. He looked pretty handsome. That was when I knew it was time. I grabbed my bouquet of baby's breath, forget-me-nots, and white lilies surrounded by daises picked from Edward's and my meadow.

I headed down the ornate stairs and to the backyard where Carlisle was waiting under a white arch covered in vines. To his left stood the man I was to marry, the man of my dreams; next to him stood his best man, Emmett and his groomsman, Jasper. I could see the nervousness in the tension of his posture and his closed fists, until he looked up to see me enter and he grinned, making my knees weak. I had to clutch my father's arm so I wouldn't fall over. I looked up at him, shocked to see a tear rolling down his cheek. Although I was his only child, getting married, I didn't expect this amount of emotion from my father. I suppose the time we spent together over dinner really softened him up.

As we proceeded down the aisle, a permanent blush on my face due to the many people staring at me, I looked to the west to see the sun just setting on the horizon. Twilight, because I'd wanted to have the wedding on a warm day, so we planned for summer and we had to be safe, in case it was sunny.

When we reached the end of the aisle, I hugged my father and kissed him on the cheek. I saw my mother and Phil in the front row, my mother already dabbing her eyes with tissue. I turned and stepped toward the altar with Alice, my maid-of-honor, and Rosalie, my bridesmaid, falling in line behind me. I took Edwards hands and gazed into his beautiful topaz eyes. "Twilight, again" I muttered to him.

He looked at me seriously, "Another end." I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Every ending is just another beginning." He looked at me with such intensity I could hardly keep my knees stiff so I wouldn't collapse.

Carlisle interrupted, beginning with our own vows, ladies first, of course. My vows had taken me 2 weeks to perfect. It could be that nearly every free moment I had was either spent being with Edward or planning the wedding with Alice. I cleared my throat and began.

"How can I possible describe what Edward is to me? He is my universe. Somehow he always seems to know what I'm thinking. He is the peanut butter to my raspberry jelly, the cheese to my macaroni." I could see Edward laugh silently at my food analogies. "My love for him is never ending, and I can't wait to spend forever with him." I began to tear as I spoke the last line and Edward's grasp on my hands tightened as my eyes brimmed with tears. Now I awaited the moment I had been looking forward to since Edward proposed.

"_Bella_. In that word I find so much comfort. She understands me on a level I never thought another person could. She knows me in a way that is beyond explanation. I am eternally grateful to her for saving me and for bringing me back to life. I love you, Bella." As the guests clapped at Edward's vows, which they could never possibly understand, I noticed the other people present for the first time.

After that, we went through the traditional vows:

"Do you Edward Cullen take Isabella Swan to be your lawfully wedded wife…"

"Do you Isabella Swan take Edward Cullen to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

"To have and to hold from this day forward,

For better or for worse, for richer, for poorer,

In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish;

From this day forward until death do us part?"

I couldn't help but smile inwardly at the irony of the last line.

"I do," Edward pronounced.

"I do," I confirmed.

Carlisle continued, "Edward, repeat after me. Bella, wear this ring,"

"Bella, wear this ring,"

"as an undying symbol,"

"as un undying symbol,"

"of my love and faithfulness to you, my wife."

"of my love and faithfulness to you, my wife."  
Carlisle turned to me. "Bella repeat after me. Edward, wear this ring,"

I cleared my throat, I didn't want to falter, to show any sign of hesitation. This was what I wanted, in a sense. I didn't need it to be formal, but Edward did, so I couldn't argue.

"Edward, wear this ring,"

"as an undying symbol,"

"as an undying symbol,"

"of my love and faithfulness to you, my husband."

"of my love and faithfulness to you, my husband."

Carlisle placed his hands over our entwined ones and spoke to Edward, "_You may now kiss your bride_."

This was the part I was waiting for. It was still hard for me to believe that Edward actually wanted me, unremarkable me, as his wife. His kiss would put away any thoughts of myself; in fact it put away any thoughts except those about his lips on mine or my trite necessity to breathe.

His cold hands grasped my face as my stomach did flips. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous. Had I not kissed him a thousand times before? His face approached mine and his eyes burned with something I had never seen before. But before I could analyze it any more, his stony lips were one with mine in the most passionate kiss we'd ever shared and I was lost, all former preoccupations dissipated.

Finally we both had to resurface. I turned to an applauding audience and grabbed Edward as we planned to take the first of many steps together as husband and wife. "I now present, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen," Carlisle announced. My heart fluttered at my new title. _Mrs. Edward Cullen_. How long I'd waited to have that title.


	2. Chapter 2

We proceeded back down the aisle and into the house where Alice had set up for the reception

We proceeded back down the aisle and into the house where Alice had set up for the reception. It was beautiful. There were several small round tables set up with beautiful bowls in the center containing a floating, dark blue candle surrounded by white rose pedals. The delicate, white silk streamers were placed perfectly so they weren't too gaudy. Alice had somehow found a way to light the room with a soft white light, but I couldn't find the lights anywhere, I would have to ask her about that later.

Eventually we made it to our long, rectangle table for myself, Edward, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. Another perpendicular table extended at the end of the table to my right where my mom, Charlie, Phil, Carlisle, and Esme sat. Next to them Was another of the small round tables with our wedding cake. It was gorgeous in it's simplicity. It was three layers, but with very little decoration, except our initials on the middle section in the same dark blue.

When we were seated and everyone had settled in, Alice stood holding a glass of champagne; mine and Edward's parents had permitted that we could have a single glass, not that Edward would drink it anyways, just a charade. She tapped her glass gently and the crowd fell silent. "I'd like to start the toasts. Bella, my sister, you've brought a change in Edward you'll never understand. You've completed him, and our family, we're delighted you'll be one of us. To the happy couple."

I couldn't help but notice the strained smile on Edward's face. I knew it was from her last line, he still didn't want me to become a monster. I ignored this, though, because I wanted to enjoy this night, so I concentrated on all the toasts. After Alice was Emmett, then Carlisle and Esme, then Jasper, then, to my surprise, Rosalie, though hers was short and composed. Charlie went next and many were flabbergasted at the amount of words he said, it was probably the most anyone had ever heard him say. Then the one I was most nervous for, my mother. Hers was the exact opposite of Rosalie's, long with lots of tears. But she finally finished with a smile on her face, and I knew she didn't approve of our early marriage, but at the same time, she didn't disapprove. So she found her happy medium, and she was married and Phil would take care of her, so most of my worries were gone, but I still felt guilty for abandoning her.

I couldn't dwell on my guilt, however, because we still had all the wedding traditions to go through. We had to cut the cake. A rather tedious task when everyone is watching. Finally we were ready with our cake; Edward decided it would be better if he actually ate the cake. He gently placed his piece to my lips and I took a small bite while everyone 'Awww'-ed. Then Edward took some frosting with his finger and wiped it on the tip of my nose, to everyone's amusement. It gave me an idea to save him from eating what he compared to "dirt." I took my cake and right before he took a bite I mashed it to his face. There was a collected gasp and an outbreak of laughter. He looked at me deviously but with apparent thanks. He wiped the cake from his mouth and the frosting from my nose.

As the party wrapped up, we thanked everyone for coming with polite gestures that showed our urgency. After everyone besides our families had left I went to my mother to say goodbye before she got on a plane back home. She hugged me tightly and looked at me with happy eyes, but I could see the tinge of sadness in them. "My little girl is all grown up."

She kissed my cheek and looked at me mischievously, "Now you're married, go have some fun on your honeymoon." I blushed crimson.

"Mom! I can't believe you." She hugged me again, then I hugged Phil and they left hand in hand, waving behind them. She looked truly happy and I could feel my guilt fading.

Then I headed over to Charlie, eyes still red around the rims to set him off to his newly empty home. "I love you, Bells. Always know that my door is always open." I could hear the sadness in his words. I thanked him, gave him a tight hug and said goodbye.

When I closed the door behind Charlie, I turned around to find a completely clean house with all of the tables and chairs stacked neatly, ready to be picked up the next morning by the rental store. I can't understand why I was surprised that my family wouldn't clean, at vampire speed like they did everything else. Edward was no where to be found but I saw Alice waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. "He went hunting, just to be safe. Let's go get you ready."

The enthusiasm she put on those last words almost made me sick. What more could she do to me? So I got into her arms and in the blink of an eye, literally, we were upstairs. Alice took down my hair and combed out the massive amounts of hairspray so my hair gently flowed down my back with a slight wave. She handed me a box with two outfits in it. One was nearly see-through lingerie, and the other was a silky pajama set. "One for before and one for after," was her explanation.

She was taking off most of my make-up, except some on my eyes, when Edward knocked on the door. I had a bag packed already and we were set for a whirlwind world tour, at Edwards's insistence. First stop, Bahamas. That was our official honeymoon, then Edward said I needed to experience the food of the Eastern Hemisphere before he changed me, and I couldn't resist. I had wanted to travel all my life, and no better way then with Edward.

"Ready?" his gentle voice floated from the doorway. I nodded and in the next instant I was in his arms headed downstairs.

I could hear Alice calling, "Have fun!"

He opened the door to the black Mercedes with one hand tossed back our bag of clothing and other necessities, for me of course, and placed me in the passenger seat. We headed of towards Seattle/Tacoma International Airport to catch our red-eye flight to the Bahamas. We were staying at The Cove Atlantis, a five-star resort in Paradise Island. Edward demanded it and I couldn't fight with his topaz eyes. I slept for most of the plane ride, hazily remembering our one connection in Denver, and waking to see the beginning gray of sunrise in Miami. We'd catch a boat to our room. Edward grabbed almost all our luggage, but gave me one of the lightest bags to seem a bit less conspicuous. We flagged down a taxi to the coast then a charter to Nassau. We made it to our Hotel just before the sun reached the horizon.

The room was amazing. It was practically a house, complete with a living room, kitchen and dining area. I put down my one piece of luggage then headed into the bathroom to freshen up. When I came out I found Edward sprawled on the bed, glittering in the sunrise. He smiled as I pounced on top of him with wet hair, wearing the lingerie Alice got me. I figured we'd see the city by night so, since we were married, we could consummate our marriage during the day. He looked at me lustfully and kissed me roughly and full of passion. I could tell our moment was coming, and my heart beat faster and faster until I swear it stopped. It did.


	3. Chapter 3

My eyelids fluttered open to see Edward's glorious face in front of me.  
"Bella, Bella, are you alright?" he asked me urgently. His face was contorted with worry and it hurt me to see him like this. I began to sit up but fell into Edward's arms as I felt the room spinning.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well one minute I'm kissing you and then I hear your heart stop and you were limp in my arms. I nearly had a heart attack, no pun intended, until I heard your heart start to beat again. Bella, you can't scare me like that. Every heartbeat draws us closer to the day when I won't be able to hear your heartbeat anymore, and if you continue to rob me of my heartbeats by fainting every time I kiss you, well," he couldn't continue because at that moment I sat up and pressed my lips against his. "I'll have to stop kissing you," he said breathily.

"Do you really think you can do that, Mr. Cullen?" I breathed into his ear. I was getting good at this whole seducing thing.

"No, Mrs. Cullen," and Edward grabbed my face and kissed me like he had never kissed me before. I regretfully pulled away gasping for air as I ran my hands up Edward's cold, muscular chest until I reached the top button of his shirt. I undid the first one and looked up at his face. His eyes were closed and his face looked delighted, so I took that as a green light and proceeded, undoing buttons as fast as I possibly could. I finally reached the bottom button, and slid my hands under his shirt as I worked to peel it off his body. I felt his chest rumble with a low moan as I pulled his shirt off of his shoulders and brought my face up to kiss him. In one movement, Edward had pulled off his shirt and flipped us over so he was on top of me with my arms pinned above my head. It was then that my breath caught, seeing Edward sparkling in the morning sunlight. He took advantage of my incapable state to lean down and leave a trail of kisses from my ear to my collarbone where he stopped and rubbed his nose up to my cheek. I could smell his sweet breath and was intoxicated.

His hands released mine and slipped under my lower back. He found the edge of my lingerie and pulled it over my head, leaving my chest bare. I began to cover myself up with embarrassment, but Edward stopped me. He looked at me so lustfully that I probably would have cut off my hand if he had asked me to in that instant. I reached my hands toward his waist, gently brushing my fingers on the exposed skin above the waistband of his jeans before unfastening the button and pulling down the zipper. He helped me pull them off and catapult them across the room so they draped across the arm of a chair. I cursed myself for wearing one less article than him, because I'd be naked before him. He could see the inexperience and panic in my face and began a trail of light kisses from my sternum to my navel. When he reached my panties, he slid one finger under the waistband on each side and began to slide them down as he retraced his trail back up and to my neck. So there I was before this god, naked and he looked insecure! I ran my hands from his shoulders to his waist and grabbed his boxers and pulled them down as I reached up and kissed his neck, his cheek, and then his lips. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Are you sure?"

"Edward, I have never been so sure of anything in my life," I told him with a sincere look. These words were almost true; the only thing I was surer of was that I wanted to be with him for eternity, even if he thought it meant sacrificing my soul.

He rested me on the bed and looked into my eyes as he brushed his hand along my cheek. He bent to kiss me and I could feel his hips near mine. My body tensed with the upcoming moment and suddenly I felt him inside me. We were one body intertwined. "I love you, Bella."

What I wasn't expecting was the pain, I gasped as a tear rolled down my cheek. Edward saw it and immediately panicked. He withdrew, and looked at me with a pained expression. "Bella, love, I never meant to hurt you."

"Shh. Edward, it's nothing you did. This is unavoidable." In that moment I could see the fear and anxiety in his face. He was just as scared and inexperienced as I was. I took his face in mine and stared deep in his topaz eyes, fighting to form coherent thoughts. "Edward, I wanted this. I still want this. I want you, no matter what." I kissed him and pulled him back to me, back to our moment. He looked fearful, but I just kissed him, and it must have brought him comfort. The second time wasn't as bad, and gradually, it got easier.

When both of us were finished, Edward leaned over and pulled us under the covers. I stared into his beautiful eyes. I don't know how long we sat there like that, but at some point I fell asleep. I awoke, dazed and confused. I sat up sharply to see the sun low in the western sky. Edward was still next to me, hardly moved from his position. I leaned over and placed my head on his chest, cuddling next to his granite body.

"You were very interesting to watch today, love," Edward smiled his half smile as I groaned.

"What did you hear?" I said, not sure if I actually wanted to know.

"Well, at first it was the usually, 'Edward, I love you,' 'Don't leave me, Edward,'" I could see his pain at the second one, "but then you started saying, 'Edward, you're so beautiful,' 'Edward, you're sexy,' 'Edward, be a part of me.'" I could feel my blush, deep crimson. "Then you got pretty graphic. 'Please, Edward, harder,'"

"OK! That's enough." He was nearly in hysterics now. I buried my face into the pillow and tried to hide my mortification. Edward placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me over so he could kiss my lips.

"I love it when you blush."

I smacked him. "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" I stormed to the bathroom, only realizing I was naked when Edward started to whistle. I grabbed some clothes off the floor, only realizing they were his when I reached the bathroom. So I put on his boxers and his shirt and walked back out to grab my toiletries and some of my own clothes, but I was stopped when I ran right into him on my way into the bedroom.

"I didn't think there was any way you could be any more attractive to me," he said lustily. "Guess I was wrong."


End file.
